Blog

From Salon: If you’d logged onto the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau Web site in 1999, you would have found a list of more than 25 fact sheets and statistical reports on topics ranging from “Earning Differences Between Men and Women” to “Facts About Asian American and Pacific Islander Women” to “Women’s Earnings as Percent of Men’s 1979-1997.” Not anymore. Those fact sheets no longer exist on the Women’s Bureau Web site, and have instead been replaced with a …

Shut ‘em down: A congressman is threatening to block U.S. payments to the Iraqi National Congress until it is determined if the group used the money to lobby the U.S. government to invade Iraq. Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson said Thursday he will try to insert language into the Pentagon’s 2005 spending bill to block the Defense Intelligence Agency’s monthly payments of $340,000 to the group for intelligence services. The INC is led by the controversial Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi is …

Commentor R. Davis gives us a heads up on this careful analysis he or she wrote on the love affair between the RNC and the Treasury. Also, Charles Kuffner (CK) sends in this interview he did with Martin Frost (D-TX24) just yesterday: CK: In defending the re-redistricting of 2003 and its intent to oust incumbents such as yourself, Republicans often bring up the 1991 redistricting effort, which is cited as a prime example of partisan gerrymandering, in this case …

Dallas Morning News: Hoping to settle a festering dispute involving Cuba, rum and international trade, Texas Rep. Lamar Smith filed a bill Wednesday that would give control of the legendary “Havana Club” label to Bacardi-Martini Ltd. A watchdog group criticized the move, saying it was an apparent favor for a donor linked to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, a Smith ally who tried to add similar language to an appropriations bill last fall. A grand jury in …

This is unbelievable (MSNBC): Members of the Iraqi National Congress and its leader Ahmed Chalabi were airlifted into southern Iraq the day Saddam’s government fell. Chalabi was President Bush’s guest at the State of the Union address. Even today, the INC gets $340,000 a month from the Pentagon to feed the United States intelligence information. But NBC News has learned that members of the group are now under investigation by Iraqi police in Baghdad — allegations of: *abduction *robbery …

Jim Turner of Texas, the leading Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, and Jane Harman of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, just released a comprehensive report entitled “Winning the War on Terror.” The full report, as well as an index by subject, is available on the website of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. This from Reuters: The plan says the United States should make a “dramatic and massive commitment on the scale of …

From Congress Daily AM: Senate Minority Leader Daschle said Tuesday Senate Democrats are ready to join House Democrats to demand that the Bush administration turn over more documents regarding its working estimates of the new Medicare law and communications about those estimates last fall with members of the House-Senate conference committee. On Friday, Medicare officials told Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee they would not, as promised earlier, turn over estimates by Medicare’s Office of the …

Let us first congratulate you on your victory in the Republican primary for PA’s 17th, you ran a swell campaign and your utter lack of experience was nobly countered by the repetition of your father’s well-respected name. However, in the spirit of good will and friendly advice, let us list some things that you should leave off of your website in the future: Accusing Former President’s of Being Serial Killers: “In my opinion, President Clinton, at the very least, …

Much different than the old boss (Roll Call): The New Boss? The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched speakerpelosi.com, a new Web site dedicated to making House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) the first woman in U.S. history to wield the Speaker’s gavel. “We need you to join us to win US House races around the nation so Democrats can elect Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi the FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE!” reads the solicitation on the site, which …

But just another day in the life of Tom DeLay... WASHINGTON (AP) - A man whose son was killed 11 years ago in a gruesome workplace accident urged Congress on Tuesday to give prosecutors the threat of felony convictions against employers whose neglect for federal safety rules causes a death. Ron Hayes, a Fairhope, Ala., resident who in December ended his two-year term on the advisory panel overseeing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was in Washington to lobby …

I guess a million people all screaming for you to go the *?&% back to Texas as you ride over in a helicopter will put a little different slant on your thinking: In a reversal, Justice Department lawyers defending the new federal law that bans a type of abortion voluntarily withdrew a subpoena for abortion records from a Manhattan hospital yesterday.

Again, a hearty thanks to Charles Kuffner (see post below), who has posted our side of the bargain on his site here. In addition, thanks to Atrios and Lean Left for supporting our humble enterprise. Next stop Archpundit. We’re going to try to get up to a pace of one a week, with the idea being that we can both get the word out about where the Democratic Caucus is coming from, and allow bloggers to speak directly to …

This is the first installment of the DCCC blog tour, in which we are exchanging space and thoughts with some of the more influential and insightful members of the blogosphere. This first edition features Charles Kuffner of www.offthekuff.com, who specializes in the circus that is Texas politics- the topic of his post today: First, I’d like to thank Jesse Lee for the opportunity to post here. I’ve been an advocate of blogging by groups like the DCCC, and I’ve …